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20px-Cquote1.png Protocol Virooz Omega.
GIR
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Invader Zim Issue
Issue 22
The Arc of Virooz, Part One: The Mark of Virooz
INVADERZIM-22-RETAIL-COVER
Chronology
Previous: Issue 21
Next: Issue 23
Information
Publisher: Oni Press
Publication date: August 9, 2017
Creative
Story by: Eric Trueheart
Art by: Warren Wucinich
Color by: Fred C Stresing


Official Summary[]

WELCOME TO ZIM’S GREATEST PLAN YET! Earth will soon be his! (Maybe!) Unfortunately, there’s something wrong with GIR—ASIDE from the usual list of things. For one, he’s intentionally trying to kill ZIM. And for two, he’s doing it at the worst possible times. Is ZIM’s greatest plan destined for failure (like it usually is)? Part one of a four-part story![1]

Release[]

Issue 22 was released on August 9, 2017.

Variations[]

Issue #22 has a total of 2 cover variations. 

  1. Warren Wucinich standard retail cover
  2. Jon Vermilyea variant cover

Characters in Issue #22 (In Order of Appearance)[]

Synopsis[]

SPOILER WARNING OF DOOM: This section or article may contain spoilers!

Virooz gir

GIR is infected with Virooz.

The story opens with Benchee, a security officer at the Cheezos Factory, narrating how humanity has always been obsessed with cheesy snack foods, but despite that, wonders why a hyper-singularity power plant is necessary to make them. It turns out this was done because of a clearly faked email from the Cheezo company's home office ordering the building of the plant by an engineer scientist.

The "engineer" is, of course, Zim, accompanied by GIR as his assistant. Zim accesses the power plant, preparing to make it explode and disperse Cheezo dust throughout the atmosphere, making the Earth's atmosphere unbreathable to humans. However, while he's attempting to make adjustments, he sees a reflection of GIR preparing to attack him in Duty Mode, only for GIR to be back to normal when he turns around. Zim's shouting from this alerts Benchee; while Zim convinces him it was nothing, Benchee notes that there's no mention of Zim on their personnel files, and goes to double check his security clearance, causing Zim to speed up his plans.

Zim under suspicion

ZIM being interrogated by Benchee.

Zim and GIR enter the air vents and prepare to use them to concentrate all the factory's Cheezo dust in one place. But GIR switches into Duty Mode again, quoting "Protocol Virooz Omega", and triggers the vent's fan before Zim is ready, causing them both to be dumped out of the vents and onto Benchee. Now believing the two are trying to sabotage the factory, he demands to see Zim's security clearance card, causing Zim to flee with GIR back to the power plant.

Barricading both of them in the power room, Zim tries to finish his sabotage, only for GIR to attack him again. In the resulting struggle, the hyper singularity is damaged and starts to leak. And before Zim can fix this, Benchee and his guards break in and grab him, while GIR escapes into the vents.

Taking Zim to his office and tying him to a chair, Benchee interrogates him, ignoring his warnings about GIR. Then GIR himself bursts into the room from a vent and begins attacking Benchee and his guards, while Zim flees, still tied to the chair. Soon, however, Benchee tracks him down and frees him. Zim then sends him to fight GIR as a distraction, which ends with Benchee being knocked clear out of the building.

Poor gir is sick

GIR being analyzed by ZIM's computer.

Zim returns to the power plant room and tries to fix the singularity leak since it will cause a meltdown (which wouldn't aid his plan as a meltdown would not put cheezo dust into the atmosphere). GIR bursts in again, and during the struggle Zim determines GIR is suffering from a glitch. He manages to disarm GIR with one of his own weapons. He then leaves with GIR, and is met by Benchee, who thanks him for stopping the meltdown; Zim realizes he didn't, just before the meltdown occurs, destroying the factory and apparently killing Benchee.

Not caring about any of that anymore, Zim returns to his base, and tries to eliminate Virooz Omega from GIR. When all other attempts fail, the Computer suggests Zim enter a virtual world where he could destroy the virus, but would be in real danger. Zim protests such a course of action, but the Computer puts him in it anyway.

Ending up inside GIR's mind, which is as bizarre as Zim apparently expected, he declares his intent to hunt down Virooz Omega.

"To be continued..."

End of Spoilers: There are no further spoilers for this section or article. You can breathe now.

Facts of Doom []

  • This is the second multi-part story in the Invader ZIM comic series. The first were Issues 1 and 2.
    • This is the first story with 4 parts.
  • Recap Kid mentioned that this 4 part storyline could count as a "movie", a not so subtle hint at the actual Invader Zim movie being produced at the time of the issue's publication.
  • The Cheezos snack food that first appeared in Issue 12 makes a reappearance. Zim also appears to be recreating the same basic plan from that issue - spread Cheezo dust in the atmosphere to make the planet uninhabitable for humans.
  • When trying to kill Zim, GIR takes a resemblance to "Duty Mode GIR" from "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff", as he was lucid and even stated he wanted to murder Zim.
  • While in his "assistant" disguise, GIR resembles Fonzy from the television series Happy Days.

References[]

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